He was already far down the street; it was dusk; Geary could only catch glimpses of his head and shoulders at long intervals.

He disappeared.
* * * * * About ten minutes before one the next day as Geary came back from lunch he was surprised to see Vandover peeping through the half-open door of his office.

He had not thought that Vandover would come back.
Of the many different stories that Vandover had told about the disappearance of his bonds, the one that was probably truest was the one that accounted for the thing by his passion for gambling.

For a long time after his advent at the Reno House this passion had been dormant; he knew no one with whom he could play, and every cent of his income now went for food and lodging.

But one day, about six months before his visit to Geary's office, Vandover saw that the proprietor of the Reno House had set up a great bagatelle board in a corner of the reading-room.